Delivery of therapeutic agents to the bone

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to compositions and methods of delivering therapeutic agents to bone. More specifically, the invention relates to endowing a large molecule vectors i.e., adeno virus, retrovirus, liposomes, micelles, natural and synthetic polymers, or combinations thereof, with the ability to target bone tissue in vivo and with improved stability in the blood, by attaching multiple copies of acid amino acid peptides. One preferred embodiment of the invention relates to endowing an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector with the ability to target bone-tissue in vivo and improve its stability, by the addition of multiple acidic amino acid peptides attached to the capsid of the viral vector.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/497,612, filed Jul. 3, 2009, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/081,711, filed Jul. 17, 2008. All documents above are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to compositions and methods for targeting vectors to bone tissue for the delivery of therapeutic agents, including but not limited to viral vectors, liposomes, and large synthetic and natural polymers, for the delivery of polypeptides, polynucleic acids, and other therapeutic agents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by deficiency of N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase (GALNS; EC 3.1.6.4), leading to accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), keratan sulfate (KS) and chondroitin-6-sulfate (C6S) (For review see; Neufeld et al. (2001) McGraw-Hill: New York. vol III, pp 3421-3452). Clinical manifestations vary from severe to an attenuated form characterized by systemic skeletal dysplasia, laxity of joints, hearing loss, corneal clouding, and heart valvular disease, with normal intelligence. Generally MPS IVA patients do not survive beyond second or third decade of life, although patients with an attenuated form can survive into the seventh decade of life (Montaño et al. (2007) J Inherit Metab Dis., 30: 165-174). Currently, no effective therapies exist for MPS IVA. Surgical interventions are used to treat some manifestations of the disease Id. Although other tissues are affected in MPS IVA patients, an ideal therapeutic agent would be efficiently distributed to bone and bone marrow. Other diseases also exist for which delivery of therapeutic agents to bone would be beneficial. One example is hypophosphatasia, for which the targeted delivery of tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) would be highly beneficial. Another example is type VII mucopolysaccharidosis, which would benefit greatly from the targeted delivery of β-glucuronidase (GUS). Gene and enzyme replacement therapy are promising treatments for bone related diseases. However, there exists a need to facilitate the delivery of therapeutic agents including polynucleotides and polypeptides to bone. The inventors provide compositions and methods to promote effective delivery of therapeutic agents to bone using large molecule vectors.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to methods and compositions for delivering therapeutic agents to bone. More specifically the present invention is directed to endowing large molecule vectors with capable of targeting bone by attaching acid amino acid peptides to these vectors externally.

In the one embodiment, the vector is a viral vector, a liposome, a large synthetic polymer, a large natural polymer, or a polymer comprised of natural and synthetic components, with acid amino acid peptides attached externally. The vector incorporates a therapeutic agent. The therapeutic agent is a pharmaceutical, a nucleotide, or a polypeptide therapeutic agent.

In a preferred embodiment, the vector is adeno-associated virus, with acid amino acid peptides attached externally, and the therapeutic polypeptide is either N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase, tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase, or β-glucuronidase.

In a most preferred embodiment, the vector is adeno-associated virus, with acid amino acid peptides attached externally, and the therapeutic polypeptide is N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase.

In yet another embodiment, is a method of making an adeno-associated viral vector, targeted to bone, with acid amino acid peptides attached externally, and incorporating a polypeptide therapeutic agent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. Map of plasmid pAAV-CBA-GALNS. ITR: inverted terminal repeat, CBA promoter: cytomegalovirus enhancer and β-actin promoter, b-globin: rabbit β-globin polyA, polyA: Fragment containing the bovine growth hormone poly-A signal, Amp: β-lactamase gene.

FIG. 2. Map of plasmid pAAV-CMV-GALNS. ITR: inverted terminal repeat, CMV/IE: cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer/promoter, IVS: Synthetic intron, IRES: Attenuated internal ribosome entry site (IRES) from encephalomyocarditis virus, Neo: Neomycin phosphotransferase coding sequence, polyA: fragment containing the bovine growth hormone poly-A signal, Amp: β-lactamase gene.

FIG. 3. Map of plasmid pCXN. CMV-IE: cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer, Amp: β-lactamase, Neo: Neomycin phosphotransferase coding sequence.

FIG. 4. Scheme of the construction of the plasmid pAAV-CBA-GALNS.

FIG. 5. Insertion of sequence encoding the octapeptide of aspartic amino acids in the pXX2 plasmid. Arrows show the site for the initial codon of VP1, VP2 and VP3.

FIG. 6. Construction of pXX2-ND8 plasmid. (a) Positive done after site-directed mutagenesis was screened by PCR using primers flanking the insertion site. The 715-bp fragment was produced for the targeted done compared to the 691-bp fragment from pXX2 plasmid. Marker: 100 bp ladder. (b) Alignment of sequencing result of pXX2 and clone 19. A box (single strand) designates the insertion site and the nucleotide sequence encoding eight aspartic amino acids in clone 19.

FIG. 7. Transfection of HEK293 cells. HEK293 cells were transfected with 1×10¹⁰ vg of the unmodified native AAV capsid or the modified AAV-AAA-capsid. GALNS activity in the cell lysate was assayed after 4 days of post-transfection.

FIG. 8. Hydroxyapatite-binding assay. Hydroxyapatite beads were incubated with 5×10¹¹ vg (blue, n=3) or 1×10¹² vg (red, n=3) of each virus for 1 h at 37° C. After centrifugation virus titers were quantified in the supernatant by spectrophotometric method, and compared with the initial amount of virus mixed.

FIG. 9. Biodistribution experiment. Mice were sacrificed 48 h after a vein tail infusion of 1.5×10¹¹ vg. 1 μg of DNA samples from bone (1), liver (2), brain (3) and bone marrow (4) were subjected to PCR using specific primers for GALNS cDNA. Primers for mouse β-glucuronidase (GUS) were used as internal control to check DNA quality and absence of PCR-inhibitors

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventors have made the surprising discovered that 4-15 acidic amino acid polypeptides, inserted into a large molecule or vector such as adeno-associated virus (AAV)(approximately 5000 KDa), by incorporating the acidic amino acid polypeptides into the AAV capsid, will increase the affinity of this viral vector for bone. Most therapeutic agents intended for bone diseases including AAV, do not have a particular affinity to Bone (Gittensa et al. (2005) Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 57: 1011-1036). Bone is distinguished from other tissues by the presence of hydroxyapatite (HA), which is positively charged. The inventors have utilized a peptides of 4-15 acidic amino acid residues (AAA), inserted into a virus capsid to increase the affinity for HA and enhance delivery of the vector nucleotides to bone. As disclosed below, AAA tagged AAV (AAA-AAV), showed 100% binding to HA while the untagged vector showed no binding with HA. In addition, the level of viral gene production after transduction of virus into the cells was not affected by the addition of the AAA peptide. Experiments in mice showed that 48 hours after intravenous infusion of the AAA tagged vector, the virus genome was increased between 16 and 291 fold in bone compared to mice infused with untagged vector.

Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV).

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) are non-enveloped virus with a linear single-stranded DNA of 4.7 kb genome. AAV typically require a helper virus, usually adenovirus or herpesvirus, for replication (Flotte (2004) Gene Ther 11: 805-810). The viral capsid protein is the first element that a cellular receptor encounters during a viral infection. Capsid structure for the serotypes AAV2, AAV4, AAV5, and AAV8 has been determined and the regions involved in host receptor interactions have been identified (see Xie et al, (2002) Proc Nati Aced Sci USA 99: 10405-10410; Nam et al. (2007) J Virol 81: 12260-12271; Choi et al. (2005) Curr Gen Ther 5: 299-310). The AAV capsid is formed by 60 proteins consisting of VP1, VP2 and VP3 in a 1:1:20 ratio, respectively, which differ in their N-terminus (Flotte (2004) Gene Ther 11: 805-810). Mutagenesis analysis has identified capsid positions which allow the insertion of peptide sequences with little effect on the DNA packaging and virus trafficking. These positions are exposed on the capsid surface (Büning, et al. (2003) Gene Ther 10: 1142-1151). For example, in AAV2, the most studied serotype, peptides inserted after amino acid positions 138, 161, 459, 584, 587 and 588, relative to VP1 sequence, are exposed on the viral vector surface. It was seen that modified AAV2 produced viral titers similar to wild-type AAV2 (Büning, et al. (2003) Gene Ther 10: 1142-1151)-12; Wu et al. (2000) J Viral 74; 8635-8647; Shi et al. (2001) Hum Gene Ther 12: 1697-1711). It was reasoned that the attachment of ligands with an affinity for a component of bone such as hydroxyapatite may endow AAV with the ability to target bone and, if attached externally, would not affect the functionality of the virus.

Method of Making Acid Amino Acid-Adeno-Associated Virus (AAA-AAV)

Producing AAA-AAV, involves methodology that is generally known by the skilled artisan and described in detail in numerous laboratory protocols, one of which is Molecular Cloning 3rd edition, (2001) J. F. Sambrook and D. W. Russell, ed., Cold Spring Harbor University Press, incorporated by reference herein in it entirety. Many modifications and variations of the present illustrative DNA sequences and nucleotide vectors are possible. For example, the degeneracy of the genetic code allows for the substitution of nucleotides throughout polypeptide coding regions, as well as in the translational stop signal, without alteration of the encoded polypeptide coding sequence. Such substitutable sequences can be deduced from the known amino acid or DNA sequence. AAA-AAV can be constructed by following conventional synthetic or site-directed mutagenesis procedures. Synthetic methods can be carried out in substantial accordance with the procedures of Itakura et. al., (1977) Science 198:1056; and Crea et. al. (1978) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, USA 75:5765, incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. The present invention is in no way limited to the DNA sequences and plasmids specifically exemplified.

Plasmid Construction.

The pAAV-CBA-GALNS plasmid, as illustrated in FIG. 1., incorporates the cytomegalovirus enhancer and β-actin promoter (CBA) to drive expression of the human N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulphate sulphatase (GALNS). It is flanked by AAV2 ITRs. The plasmid was constructed by replacing the cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer/promoter (CMV) in pAAV-CMV-GALNS (FIG. 2) as previously constructed with a 1.8-kb fragment from pCXN (FIG. 3) containing the CBA promoter. The CMV immediate early enhancer/promoter in pAAV-CMV-GALNS has been previously described (Niwa et al. (1991) December 15; 108(2):193-9) and is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The 1.8-kb fragment was ligated into the plasmid and the correct orientation of the insert was confirmed by restriction enzyme analysis (FIG. 4).

To produce the AAA-AAV vector which incorporates the octapeptide of aspartic acid in to the capsid protein, the pXX2 plasmid (SEQ ID NO:1) which encodes for the Rep and Cap AAV2 proteins (Xiao et al. (1998) J Virol 72: 2224-2232), was modified to produce (pXX2-ND8) (SEQ ID NO:2). This was done by inserting a sequence encoding eight aspartic amino acids (ND8) (5′-GATGATGATGATGATGATGACGAC-3′) (SEQ ID NO:3), immediately after the initial codon of the VP2 protein in the packing plasmid pXX (FIG. 5). Insertion was carried out using a commercial sire-directed mutagenesis kit (QuikChange® Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit, Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) according to manufacturer's instructions, by using the primers: 5-gaggaacctgttaagacgGATGATGATGATGATGATGACGACgctccgggaaaaaagagg-3 (SEQ ID NO:4) (XX2-ND8 sense) and its complement (XX2-ND8 antisense). Insertion of the sequence encoding the octapeptide sequence was first confirmed by PCR with primers XX2-ND8-4F 5′-ATCTCAACCCGTTTCTGTCG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:5) and XX2-ND8-4R 5″-GCGTCTCCAGTCTGACCAA-3′(SEQ ID NO:6), flanking the insertion site, which produced a PCR product of 691 bp with the original pXX2 plasmid and 715 bp after the insertion of sequence. The resulting plasmid (pXX2-ND8) (SEQ ID NO:2) was sequenced to ensure the presence of the eight aspartic amino acids without introduction of fortuitous mutations.

Production of Recombinant AAV-AAV Vectors

CBA-GALNS (native capsid) or ND8/CBA-GALNS (AAA tagged capsid) were produced by calcium phosphate-mediated co-transfection of pAAV-CBA-GALNS, pXX6-80 helper plasmid (Xiao et al. (1998) J Virol 72: 2224-2232), and pXX2 or pXX2-ND8 plasmids (Zolotukhin et al. (1999). Gene Ther 6: 973-985). HEK 293 cells were seeded to 80-90% confluence on 15-cm culture plates and media was removed immediately before starting the transfection. The three plasmids were mixed in 18:18:54 μg ratio (1:1:1 molar ratio) with 1.25 mL of 0.25 M CaCl₂. Then, 1.25 mL of 2× HeBS buffer (280 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM Na₂HPO₄, 50 mM HEPES, pH 7.1) was added and the mixture was incubated for 1 minute at room temperature. The mixture was added to 20 mL of culture media (DMEM with FBS and antibiotics) and immediately dispensed into the culture plate. Forty-eight hours after transfection, the cells were harvested, resuspended in 15 mL of AAV lysis buffer (0.15 M NaCl, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.5), and lysated by three freeze/thaw cycles. The solution was clarified by centrifugation at 3,700 g at 4° for 20 minutes. The supernatant was designated the primary viral solution and stored at −80° C. for further analysis.

AAV vectors were purified by iodixanol gradient (Zolotukhin et al. (1999) Gene Ther 6: 973-985). The gradient was prepared by combining 9 mL of 15% iodixanol (Optiprep®, Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, Mo.), 1 M NaCl in PBS-MK buffer (1× PBS, 1 mM MgCl₂ and 2.5 mM KCl), 6 mL of 25% iodixanol in PBS-MK buffer with Phenol red (2.5 μL of stock solution per mL of iodixanol solution), 5 mL of 40% iodixanol in PBS-MK buffer, and 5 mL of 60% iodixanol in PBS-MK. Primary viral solution (aprox. 15 mL) was added and gradient was centrifuged at 25,000 RPM for 3 h at 18° C. Using a syringe with a 18-gauge needle, 2.5 mL were aspirated of each of the 60% and 40% phases. The virus solution was concentrated with Centricon 100 K (Millipore), desalted with 2 mL of 0.9% NaCl, and stored to −80° C. Quantification was be carried out by a spectrophotometric method, based on the extinction coefficient of the AAV2 capsid proteins and genome (Sommer et al. (2003). Mol Ther 7:122-128). For quantification 100 μL of viral solution was incubated with 0.5 μL of 20% SDS at 75° C. for 10 minutes, and absorbance was measured at 260 and 280 nm. A solution of 0.9% NaCl with 0.5 μL of 20% SDS was used as blank. Virus genomes per mL (vg/mL) were calculated according to the equation:

$\begin{matrix} {{{vg}\text{/}{mL}} = \frac{4{,{47 \times 10^{19}\left( {{A_{260} - 0},{59A_{280}}} \right)}}}{{MW}_{DNA}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

where MWDNA is the molecular weight of each viral genome based on its sequence and using the molecular weight of each nucleotide (A=312.2 Da, C=288.2 Da, G=328.2 Da y T=303.2 Da) (see Sommer et al. (2003). Mol Ther 7: 122-128).

In Vitro Transfection.

HEK293 cells, 1×10⁵ (ATCC CRL-1573) were seeded in 12-well plates and transfected with 1×10¹⁰ vg (1×10⁵ vg/cell) of each viral genome. Cells were harvested postransfection, and resuspended in 100 μL of 1% sodium deoxycholate (Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, Mo.). GALNS activity in cell lysate was assayed using the substrate 4-methylumbeliferyl-β-D-galactopyranoside-6-sulphate (Toronto Chemicals Research, North York, On, Canada), as described (van Diggelen et al. (1993) Clin Chem Acta 187:131-140). One unit is defined as the enzyme catalyzing 1 nmol of substrate per hour. Total protein in cell lysate will be determined by micro-Lowry protein assay.

Hydroxyapatite-Binding Assay.

Assays were carried out essentially as described (Nishioka et al. (2006) Mol Genet Metab 88: 244-255). Hydroxyapatite beads (Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, Mo.) were suspended in 25 mM Tris-HCl buffered saline, pH 7.4, at a concentration of 100 μg/μL. AAV2 (wild-type virus), CBA-GALNS and ND8/CBA-GALNS plasmids were mixed at a final concentration 5×10¹¹ and 1×10¹² vg. The mixture was incubated at 37° C. for 1 h, and centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 10 minutes. The AAV titers were measured in the supernatant, and the bound AAV fraction was determined from the amount of the total and unbound AAV. Quantification of AAV vectors in the supernatant was carried out by the spectrophotometric method described above. Hydroxyapatite-binding assays for each AAV vector was carried out by triplicate.

Biodistribution Experiment.

1.5×10¹¹ vg of CBA-GALNS or ND8/CBA-GALNS were injected intravenously into 7-8-weeks-old MPS IVA knock-out mice (n=3 for each group) according to Tomatsu et al. (2003) Hum Mol Genet 12: 3349-3358, incorporated by reference herein. Control animals were injected with PBS. Mice were sacrificed 48 hours after the injection, and liver, brain, and bone (leg) were dissected and immediately frozen in dry-ice. Bone marrow was obtained by flushing the femurs with PBS. Genomic DNA was extracted by tissue homogenization in 1 ml of DNAzol (GIBCO, Grand Island, N.Y.) according to manufacturer's instructions. DNA samples from liver, brain, bone and bone marrow were analyzed for the presence of viral DNA by PCR using the primers TOMF23 5′-ACAGGGCCATTGATGGCCTCAACCTCCT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:7) and TOMF34R 5′-GCTTCGTGTGGTCTTCCAGATT GTGAGTTG-3′(SEQ ID NO:8), which were specific for human GALNS cDNA, and produced a 235 bp PCR-fragment. This pair-primers specific for human GALNS cDNA, did not amplify the genomic GALNS sequence under these conditions, because the primers annealed in exons 10 and 12, producing a 4.1 kb PCR product. Primers of mouse β-glucuronidase gene were used as an internal control to check DNA quality and absence of PCR-inhibitors. Quantification of the viral genome in bone samples was done by real-time PCR (Tomatsu, et al. (2003) Hum Mol Genet 12: 3349-3358), with a commercial kit, the Fast SYBR® Green Master Mix (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.), according to manufacturer's instructions, using 1 μg of total DNA and the primers TOMF23 and TOMF34R. The pAAV-CBA-GALNS plasmid was used as standard.

DEFINITIONS

The term “vector” as used herein, refers to vectors for the delivery of therapeutic agents. Examples include, but are not limited to, viral vectors, liposomes, large natural polymers, large synthetic polymers, and polymers comprised of both natural and synthetic components.

The term “therapeutic agent” is intended in its broadest meaning to include not only the polypeptides and polynucleotides of the instance invention but also any agent which conveys an effect beneficial to health including but not limited to any pharmaceutical agent, including cytokines, small molecule drugs, cell-permeable small molecule drugs, hormones, chemotherapy, combinations of interleukins, lectins and other stimulating agents.

The term “polypeptide therapeutic agent” as used herein, refers to any peptide, polypeptide, or protein, with out limitation with therapeutic benefits. By way of example and not of limitation are enzymes which may be useful in enzyme replacement therapy. Non-limiting examples include N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase (GALNS), also described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/864,758, and tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) also described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/484,870, and P-glucuronidase (GUS), also described in Ser. No. 11/614,970. Polypeptide therapeutic agents may include enzymes in their native form, or functional fragments thereof. Polypeptide therapeutic agents may be used alone, or in combination or incorporated into fusion proteins.

The term “acidic amino acid” or “AAA” as used herein, refers to any repeating amino acid sequence of glutamic acid or aspartic acid. As used herein AAA may comprise multiple copies of acidic amino acid peptides, in any arbitrary combination including repeating glutamic acid or aspartic acid sequences or a combination thereof. The number of acid amino acids in each AAA peptide may be 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15. Preferably 4-15, more preferably 4-0.8, and most preferably 8 acid amino acids. Multiple copies of a peptide consisting of AAA may be directly attached to a vector (viral and non-viral) via a peptide bond or the like. In the present invention, though there is no specific limitation as to the method for attaching multiple copies of a AAA peptide to a vector, it is advantageous, e.g., to produce and use fusion proteins of comprising the vector and the AAA peptide.

The term “large polymer” as used herein, refers to any polymer which may be used to deliver a therapeutic agent. Non-limiting examples of polymers and methods of modification may be found in International Patent Applications Nos. WO/2007/012013 and WO/2004/022099 incorporated by reference herein.

In addition to HEK 293 cells described herein, any number of cell lines are know in the art are capable of expressing the various polynucleotides and phasmids in the invention. To this end, any eukaryotic host cells which possess the cellular machinery for proper processing of the primary transcript may be used. Cell culture techniques are also well known in the art.

Other Large Molecule Vectors.

The instant invention is not limited to AAV. The surprising discovery that AAA peptides may endow large molecules with an affinity for hydroxyapatite (HA) may be applied to other virus or large molecule vectors including any virus vector, by way of example but not of limitation, adenoviruses, retro viruses, HCV, HIV, herpesvirus, papovavirus, poxvirus hepadnavirus, adeno-associated virus, parvovirus, vaccinia virus, etc. or related or derived viruses thereof. Mutant herpesviruses can for example be based on HSV1, HSV2, VZV, CMV, EBV, HHV6, HHV7, or on non-human animal herpesviruses such as PRY, IBRV/BHV, MDV, EHV, and others. Vectors may also include Lentiviruses which have been used for delivery of small interfering RNA as described (Li and Rossi (2005) Methods Enzymol 392, 226), hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. AAA peptides may be inserted into, capsid or coat proteins of any of the aforementioned viral vectors, as described herein for AAV, whereby the virus vector is endowed with an increased affinity for HA.

Also included are any and all vectors derived from liposomes, micelles, or large natural or synthetic polymers. Methods of attaching polypeptides to liposomes are know in the art and may be adapted to the AAA peptides of the instant invention. By way of example but not of limitation, AAA peptides may be fused with transmembrane proteins using methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,548, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Other methods include chemical linking AAA to liposomes, using methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,511, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Other gene delivery vectors include liposome-derived systems, artificial viral envelopes, and other systems known in the art (See, e.g., Rossi, J. J. (1995) Br. Med. Bull. 51(1):217-225; Boado, R. J. et al. (1998) J. Pharm. Sci. 87(11):1308-1315; and Morris, M. C. et al. (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25(14):2730-2736; El-Aneed, (2004) J Control Release 94, 1-14), all, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

These same chemical linking methods may be applied to large natural and synthetic polymers. By way of example, but not of limitation, natural polymers include polymers derived proteins including collagen and fibrin, or, carbohydrates including hyaluronic acid and sulfated glycosaminoglycans, as well as polymers derived from lipids including liposome or micelles, or polymers derived from polyamino acids including poly-L-arginine, poly-L-lysine and poly-L-ornithine. By way of example but not of limitation, synthetic polymers may include poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylic) poly(HEMA), or derivatives thereof. By way of example but not of limitation, polymers which are combinations of synthetic and natural polymers include HEMA-PC and pMPC as described in International Patent Application publication WO 2007/100902, and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The skilled artisan will recognize that amino acid coupling to proteins or synthetic polymers differ, and conditions will be varied as necessary to promote the formation of the conjugates. Additional guidance maybe obtained from texts such as Wong, 8.S., “Chemistry of Protein Conjugation and Cross-Linking,” (CRC Press 1991), or standard texts in organic chemistry.

In one embodiment is a vector with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a therapeutic agent.

In another embodiment is a viral vector with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide therapeutic agent. Examples of polypeptide therapeutic agent include, N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase (GALNS), tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP), and β-glucuronidase (GUS) alone or in combination.

In one preferred embodiment is an adeno-associated virus with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a nucleic acid encoding N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase (GALNS).

In another embodiment is an adeno-associated virus with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a nucleic acid encoding tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP).

In another embodiment is an adeno-associated virus with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a nucleic acid encoding β-glucuronidase (GUS).

In one embodiment is a method of making a viral vector which targets bone by incorporating 4-15 acid amino acids into the viral caspid.

In another embodiment is a method of treating a subject in need by administering a viral vector with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally and incorporating a therapeutic agent.

In another embodiment is a liposome with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a therapeutic agent.

In another embodiment is a synthetic polymer with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a therapeutic agent.

In another embodiment is a natural polymer with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a therapeutic agent.

In another embodiment is a polymer with both natural and synthetic components with 4-15 acid amino acids attached externally, incorporating a therapeutic agent.

Methods of Practicing the Invention Administration

An AAA-AAV vector of the present invention may be prepared in the form of a pharmaceutical composition containing the fusion protein dissolved or dispersed in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier well known to those who are skilled in the art, for parenteral administration by e.g., intravenous, subcutaneous, or intramuscular injection or by intravenous drip infusion. For the pharmaceutical composition for parenteral administration, any conventional additives may be used such as excipients, binders, disintegrates, dispersing agents, lubricants, diluents, absorption enhancers, buffering agents, surfactants, solubilizing agents, preservatives, emulsifiers, isotonizers, stabilizers, solubilizers for injection, pH adjusting agents, etc. An AAA viral, liposomal, or polymer vector of the present invention, in particular a AAA-AAV viral vector and a AAA peptide attached to a viral capsid, may be used advantageously in place of the conventional untagged (native) viral vector in a substitution therapy for the treatment of bone diseases. In the treatment, the vector carrying the fusion protein may be administered intravenously, subcutaneously, or intramuscularly. Doses and frequencies of administration are to be determined by the physician in charge in accordance with the condition of his or her patient.

The various embodiment described herein are water-soluble and maybe administered, by way of example, in a sterile aqueous solution, preferably a physiological solution. A pharmaceutically acceptable formulation of the present invention may be any injectable or topically applied physiological solution. A physiological solution may be comprised of isotonic balanced salts with a pH of about 7.0 to about 7.5. A preferred physiological solution may comprise isotonic saline and a pH of 7.5. For topical administration or for certain targeted applications it may be desirable to increase the viscosity of the formulation. Various carriers known to increase viscosity include but are not limited to such high molecular weight polymers such as, hyaluronic acid, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, as well as other carbohydrates or sugars. These are typical included in the formulation at 0.01 to 0.1 percent, 0.1 to 1.0 percent, 1 to 2 percent, 2 to 3 percent, 3 to 4 percent, 4 to 5 percent 5 to 10 percent, or 10 to 20 percent by weight. By way of example and not of limitation, recombinant viruses may be administered at a dose of 10⁷-10 ¹² pfu for a non-intravenous administration.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the following examples. Other embodiments within the scope of the claims herein will be apparent to one skilled in the art from consideration of the specification or practice of the invention as disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification, together with the examples, be considered exemplary only, with the scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the claims, which follow the examples.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Construction of pXX2-ND8 Plasmid

After site-directed mutagenesis was performed, 20 clones were obtained. Five clones out of 20 clones had an expected size of 8.3 kb. PCR with XX2-ND8-4F and XX2-ND8-4R primers showed that in three clones a PCR product of 715 bp was obtained (FIG. 6 a). Sequencing of those plasmids showed the presence of the precise insertional sequence in one clone (FIG. 6 b) without introduction of fortuitous mutations.

Example 2 In Vitro Transfection

GALNS activity from transfected cells with either untagged or tagged plasmid increased to 12.24+/−3.25 U/mg or 12.53+/−2.33 U/mg respectively, compared to 0.63+/−0.55 U/mg in untransfected cells (FIG. 7). These results show that the presence of the AAA in the capsid does not alter the transfection efficacy of the plasmid and expression level of the gene product.

Example 3 Hydroxyapatite-Binding Assay

AAV2 wild-type and CBA-GALNS (native capsid) virus vectors were found in all 100% in the supernatant after the hydroxyapatite-binding assay indicating no binding with hydroxyapatite, while no ND8/CBA-GALNS virus vectors were was found in the supernatant, indicating 100% affinity with hydroxyapatite (FIG. 8).

Example 4 Biodistribution Experiment

DNA samples from bone, liver, brain and bone marrow were tested by PCR for presence of vector DNA after 48 h. After 48 h post injection, virus DNA was detected in liver, brain, and bone marrow with both CBA-GALNS and ND8/CBA-GALNS vectors. However, in bone with ND8/CBA-GALNS, the virus genome was detected while CBA-GALNS, was not detected (FIG. 9). Although mouse-by-mouse variation was observed, virus genome quantification by real-time PCR in DNA samples from bone showed an increment between 16- and 291-folds in the amount of virus genome in mice infused with ND8/CBA-GALNS compared to mice infused with CBA-GALNS. No virus DNA was detected in any tissue sample from control mice with PBS.

All publications and patents cited in this specification, including U.S. patent application Ser. Nos., 12/497,612, 61/081,711, 11/614,970, 11/245,424, 11/484,870, 60/725,563, and 10/864,758, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. The discussion of the references herein is intended merely to summarize the assertions made by the authors and no admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. Applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited references.

Sequences

SEQ ID NO: 1. Complete sequence of packing plasmid pXX2 (8.3 kb). Initial codon for capsid proteins VP1, VP2 and VP3 are shown in bold.

CGCCTCTCCCCGCGCGTTGGCCGATTCATTAATGCAGAATTCCCATCATCAATAATA TACCTTATTTTGGATTGAAGCCAATATGATAATGAGGGGGTGGAGTTTGTGACGTGG CGCGGGGCGTGGGAACGGGGCGGGTGACGTAGTAGCTCTAGAGGTCCTGTATTAGA GGTCACGTGAGTGTTTTGCGACATTTTGCGACACCATGTGGTCACGCTGGGTATTTA AGCCCGAGTGAGCACGCAGGGTCTCCATTTTGAAGCGGGAGGTTTGAACGCGCAGC CACCACGGCGGGGTTTTACGAGATTGTGATTAAGGTCCCCAGCGACCTTGACGAGCA TCTGCCCGGCATTTCTGACAGCTTTGTGAACTGGGTGGCCGAGAAGGAATGGGAGTT GCCGCCAGATTCTGACATGGATCTGAATCTGATTGAGCAGGCACCCCTGACCGTGGC CGAGAAGCTGCAGCGCGACTTTCTGACGGAATGGCGCCGTGTGAGTAAGGCCCCGG AGGCCCTTTTCTTTGTGCAATTTGAGAAGGGAGAGAGCTACTTCCACATGCACGTGC TCGTGGAAACCACCGGGGTGAAATCCATGGTTTTGGGACGTTTCCTGAGTCAGATTC GCGAAAAACTGATTCAGAGAATTTACCGCGGGATCGAGCCGACTTTGCCAAACTGG TTCGCGGTCACAAAGACCAGAAATGGCGCCGGAGGCGGGAACAAGGTGGTGGATG AGTGCTACATCCCCAATTACTTGCTCCCCAAAACCCAGCCTGAGCTCCAGTGGGCGT GGACTAATATGGAACAGTATTTAAGCGCCTGTTTGAATCTCACGGAGCGTAAACGGT TGGTGGCGCAGCATCTGACGCACGTGTCGCAGACGCAGGAGCAGAACAAAGAGAAT CAGAATCCCAATTCTGATGCGCCGGTGATCAGATCAAAAACTTCAGCCAGGTACATG GAGCTGGTCGGGTGGCTCGTGGACAAGGGGATTACCTCGGAGAAGCAGTGGATCCA GGAGGACCAGGCCTCATACATCTCCTTCAATGCGGCCTCCAACTCGCGGTCCCAAAT CAAGGCTGCCTTGGACAATGCGGGAAAGATTATGAGCCTGACTAAAACCGCCCCCG ACTACCTGGTGGGCCAGCAGCCCGTGGAGGACATTTCCAGCAATCGGATTTATAAA ATTTTGGAACTAAACGGGTACGATCCCCAATATGCGGCTTCCGTCTTTCTGGGATGG GCCACGAAAAAGTTCGGCAAGAGGAACACCATCTGGCTGTTTGGGCCTGCAACTAC CGGGAAGACCAACATCGCGGAGGCCATAGCCCACACTGTGCCCTTCTACGGGTGCG TAAACTGGACCAATGAGAACTTTCCCTTCAACGACTGTGTCGACAAGATGGTGATCT GGTGGGAGGAGGGGAAGATGACCGCCAAGGTCGTGGAGTCGGCCAAAGCCATTCTC GGAGGAAGCAAGGTGCGCGTGGACCAGAAATGCAAGTCCTCGGCCCAGATAGACCC GACTCCCGTGATCGTCACCTCCAACACCAACATGTGCGCCGTGATTGACGGGAACTC AACGACCTTCGAACACCAGCAGCCGTTGCAAGACCGGATGTTCAAATTTGAACTCA CCCGCCGTCTGGATCATGACTTTGGGAAGGTCACCAAGCAGGAAGTCAAAGACTTTT TCCGGTGGGCAAAGGATCACGTGGTTGAGGTGGAGCATGAATTCTACGTCAAAAAG GGTGGAGCCAAGAAAAGACCCGCCCCCAGTGACGCAGATATAAGTGAGCCCAAAC GGGTGCGCGAGTCAGTTGCGCAGCCATCGACGTCAGACGCGGAAGCTTCGATCAAC TACGCAGACAGGTACCAAAACAAATGTTCTCGTCACGTGGGCATGAATCTGATGCTG TTTCCCTGCAGACAATGCGAGAGAATGAATCAGAATTCAAATATCTGCTTCACTCAC GGACAGAAAGACTGTTTAGAGTGCTTTCCCGTGTCAGAATCTCAACCCGTTTCTGTC GTCAAAAAGGCGTATCAGAAACTGTGCTACATTCATCATATCATGGGAAAGGTGCC AGACGCTTGCACTGCCTGCGATCTGGTCAATGTGGATTTGGATGACTGCATCTTTGA ACAATAAATGATTTAAATCAGGTATGGCTGCCGATGGTTATCTTCCAGATTGGCTCG AGGACACTCTCTCTGAAGGAATAAGACAGTGGTGGAAGCTCAAACCTGGCCCACCA CCACCAAAGCCCGCAGAGCGGCATAAGGACGACAGCAGGGGTCTTGTGCTTCCTGG GTACAAGTACCTCGGACCCTTCAACGGACTCGACAAGGGAGAGCCGGTCAACGAGG CAGACGCCGCGGCCCTCGAGCACGACAAAGCCTACGACCGGCAGCTCGACAGCGGA GACAACCCGTACCTCAAGTACAACCACGCCGACGCGGAGTTTCAGGAGCGCCTTAA AGAAGATACGTCTTTTGGGGGCAACCTCGGACGAGCAGTCTTCCAGGCGAAAAAGA GGGTTCTTGAACCTCTGGGCCTGGTTGAGGAACCTGTTAAGACGGCTCCGGGAAAA AAGAGGCCGGTAGAGCACTCTCCTGTGGAGCCAGACTCCTCCTCGGGAACCGGAAA GGCGGGCCAGCAGCCTGCAAGAAAAAGATTGAATTTTGGTCAGACTGGAGACGCAG ACTCAGTACCTGACCCCCAGCCTCTCGGACAGCCACCAGCAGCCCCCTCTGGTCTGG GAACTAATACGATGGCTACAGGCAGTGGCGCACCAATGGCAGACAATAACGAGGG CGCCGACGGAGTGGGTAATTCCTCGGGAAATTGGCATTGCGATTCCACATGGATGG GCGACAGAGTCATCACCACCAGCACCCGAACCTGGGCCCTGCCCACCTACAACAAC CACCTCTACAAACAAATTTCCAGCCAATCAGGAGCCTCGAACGACAATCACTACTTT GGCTACAGCACCCCTTGGGGGTATTTTGACTTCAACAGATTCCACTGCCACTTTTCAC CACGTGACTGGCAAAGACTCATCAACAACAACTGGGGATTCCGACCCAAGAGACTC AACTTCAAGCTCTTTAACATTCAAGTCAAAGAGGTCACGCAGAATGACGGTACGAC GACGATTGCCAATAACCTTACCAGCACGGTTCAGGTGTTTACTGACTCGGAGTACCA GCTCCCGTACGTCCTCGGCTCGGCGCATCAAGGATGCCTCCCGCCGTTCCCAGCAGA CGTCTTCATGGTGCCACAGTATGGATACCTCACCCTGAACAACGGGAGTCAGGCAGT AGGACGCTCTTCATTTTACTGCCTGGAGTACTTTCCTTCTCAGATGCTGCGTACCGGA AACAACTTTACCTTCAGCTACACTTTTGAGGACGTTCCTTTCCACAGCAGCTACGCTC ACAGCCAGAGTCTGGACCGTCTCATGAATCCTCTCATCGACCAGTACCTGTATTACT TGAGCAGAACAAACACTCCAAGTGGAACCACCACGCAGTCAAGGCTTCAGTTTTCT CAGGCCGGAGCGAGTGACATTCGGGACCAGTCTAGGAACTGGCTTCCTGGACCCTG TTACCGCCAGCAGCGAGTATCAAAGACATCTGCGGATAACAACAACAGTGAATACT CGTGGACTGGAGCTACCAAGTACCACCTCAATGGCAGAGACTCTCTGGTGAATCCG GGCCCGGCCATGGCAAGCCACAAGGACGATGAAGAAAAGTTTTTTCCTCAGAGCGG GGTTCTCATCTTTGGGAAGCAAGGCTCAGAGAAAACAAATGTGGACATTGAAAAGG TCATGATTACAGACGAAGAGGAAATCAGGACAACCAATCCCGTGGCTACGGAGCAG TATGGTTCTGTATCTACCAACCTCCAGAGAGGCAACAGACAAGCAGCTACCGCAGA TGTCAACACACAAGGCGTTCTTCCAGGCATGGTCTGGCAGGACAGAGATGTGTACCT TCAGGGGCCCATCTGGGCAAAGATTCCACACACGGACGGACATTTTCACCCCTCTCC CCTCATGGGTGGATTCGGACTTAAACACCCTCCTCCACAGATTCTCATCAAGAACAC CCCGGTACCTGCGAATCCTTCGACCACCTTCAGTGCGGCAAAGTTTGCTTCCTTCATC ACACAGTACTCCACGGGACAGGTCAGCGTGGAGATCGAGTGGGAGCTGCAGAAGGA AAACAGCAAACGCTGGAATCCCGAAATTCAGTACACTTCCAACTACAACAAGTCTG TTAATGTGGACTTTACTGTGGACACTAATGGCGTGTATTCAGAGCCTCGCCCCATTG GCACCAGATACCTGACTCGTAATCTGTAATTGCTTGTTAATCAATAAACCGTTTAATT CGTTTCAGTTGAACTTTGGTCTCTGCGTATTTCTTTCTTATCTAGTTTCCATGCTCTAG AGGTCCTGTATTAGAGGTCACGTGAGTGTTTTGCGACATTTTGCGACACCATGTGGT CACGCTGGGTATTTAAGCCCGAGTGAGCACGCAGGGTCTCCATTTTGAAGCGGGAG GTTTGAACGCGCAGCCACCACGGCGGGGTTTTACGAGATTGTGATTAAGGTCCCCAG CGACCTTGACGAGCATCTGCCCGGCATTTCTGACAGCTTTGTGAACTGGGTGGCCGA GAAGGAATGGGAGTTGCCGCCAGATTCTGACATGGATCTGAATCTGATTGAGCAGG CACCCCTGACCGTGGCCGAGAAGCTGCATCGCTGGCGTAATAGCGAAGAGGCCCGC ACCGATCGCCCTTCCCAACAGTTGCGCAGCCTGAATGGCGAATGGCGATTCCGTTGC AATGGCTGGCGGTAATATTGTTCTGGATATTACCAGCAAGGCCGATAGTTTGAGTTC TTCTACTCAGGCAAGTGATGTTATTACTAATCAAAGAAGTATTGCGACAACGGTTAA TTTGCGTGATGGACAGACTCTTTTACTCGGTGGCCTCACTGATTATAAAAACACTTCT CAGGATTCTGGCGTACCGTTCCTGTCTAAAATCCCTTTAATCGGCCTCCTGTTTAGCT CCCGCTCTGATTCTAACGAGGAAAGCACGTTATACGTGCTCGTCAAAGCAACCATAG TACGCGCCCTGTAGCGGCGCATTAAGCGCGGCGGGTGTGGTGGTTACGCGCAGCGT GACCGCTACACTTGCCAGCGCCCTAGCGCCCGCTCCTTTCGCTTTCTTCCCTTCCTTT CTCGCCACGTTCGCCGGCTTTCCCCGTCAAGCTCTAAATCGGGGGCTCCCTTTAGGG TTCCGATTTAGTGCTTTACGGCACCTCGACCCCAAAAAACTTGATTAGGGTGATGGT TCACGTAGTGGGCCATCGCCCTGATAGACGGTTTTTCGCCCTTTGACGTTGGAGTCC ACGTTCTTTAATAGTGGACTCTTGTTCCAAACTGGAACAACACTCAACCCTATCTCG GTCTATTCTTTTGATTTATAAGGGATTTTGCCGATTTCGGCCTATTGGTTAAAAAATG AGCTGATTTAACAAAAATTTAACGCGAATTTTAACAAAATATTAACGTTTACAATTT AAATATTTGCTTATACAATCTTCCTGTTTTTGGGGCTTTTCTGATTATCAACCGGGGT ACATATGATTGACATGCTAGTTTTACGATTACCGTTCATCGATTCTCTTGTTTGCTCC AGACTCTCAGGCAATGACCTGATAGCCTTTGTAGAGACCTCTCAAAAATAGCTACCC TCTCCGGCATGAATTTATCAGCTAGAACGGTTGAATATCATATTGATGGTGATTTGA CTGTCTCCGGCCTTTCTCACCCGTTTGAATCTTTACCTACACATTACTCAGGCATTGC ATTTAAAATATATGAGGGTTCTAAAAATTTTTATCCTTGCGTTGAAATAAAGGCTTCT CCCGCAAAAGTATTACAGGGTCATAATGTTTTTGGTACAACCGATTTAGCTTTATGC TCTGAGGCTTTATTGCTTAATTTTGCTAATTCTTTGCCTTGCCTGTATGATTTATTGGA TGTTGCAATTCCTGATGCGGTATTTTCTCCTTACGCATCTGTGCGGTATTTCACACCG CATATGGTGCACTCTCAGTACAATCTGCTCTGATGCCGCATAGTTAAGCCAGCCCCG ACACCCGCCAACACCCGCTGACGCGCCCTGACGGGCTTGTCTGCTCCCGGCATCCGC TTACAGACAAGCTGTGACCGTCTCCGGGAGCTGCATGTGTCAGAGGTTTTCACCGTC ATCACCGAAACGCGCGAGACGAAAGGGCCTCGTGATACGCCTATTTTTATAGGTTAA TGTCATGATAATAATGGTTTCTTAGACGTCAGGTGGCACTTTTCGGGGAAATGTGCG CGGAACCCCTATTTGTTTATTTTTCTAAATACATTCAAATATGTATCCGCTCATGAGA CAATAACCCTGATAAATGCTTCAATAATATTGAAAAAGGAAGAGTATGAGTATTCA ACATTTCCGTGTCGCCCTTATTCCCTTTTTTGCGGCATTTTGCCTTCCTGTTTTTGCTC ACCCAGAAACGCTGGTGAAAGTAAAAGATGCTGAAGATCAGTTGGGTGCACGAGTG GGTTACATCGAACTGGATCTCAACAGCGGTAAGATCCTTGAGAGTTTTCGCCCCGAA GAACGTTTTCCAATGATGAGCACTTTTAAAGTTCTGCTATGTGGCGCGGTATTATCCC GTATTGACGCCGGGCAAGAGCAACTCGGTCGCCGCATACACTATTCTCAGAATGACT TGGTTGAGTACTCACCAGTCACAGAAAAGCATCTTACGGATGGCATGACAGTAAGA GAATTATGCAGTGCTGCCATAACCATGAGTGATAACACTGCGGCCAACTTACTTCTG ACAACGATCGGAGGACCGAAGGAGCTAACCGCTTTTTGCACAACATGGGGGATCA TGTAACTCGCCTTGATCGTTGGGAACCGGAGCTGAATGAAGCCATACCAAACGACG AGCGTGACACCACGATGCCTGTAGCAATGGCAACAACGTTGCGCAAACTATTAACT GGCGAACTACTTACTCTAGCTTCCCGGCAACAATTAATAGACTGGATGGAGGCGGAT AAAGTTGCAGGACCACTTCTGCGCTCGGCCCTTCCGGCTGGCTGGTTTATTGCTGAT AAATCTGGAGCCGGTGAGCGTGGGTCTCGCGGTATCATTGCAGCACTGGGGCCAGA TGGTAAGCCCTCCCGTATCGTAGTTATCTACACGACGGGGAGTCAGGCAACTATGGA TGAACGAAATAGACAGATCGCTGAGATAGGTGCCTCACTGATTAAGCATTGGTAAC TGTCAGACCAAGTTTACTCATATATACTTTAGATTGATTTAAAACTTCATTTTTAATT TAAAAGGATCTAGGTGAAGATCCTTTTTGATAATCTCATGACCAAAATCCCTTAACG TGAGTTTTCGTTCCACTGAGCGTCAGACCCCGTAGAAAAGATCAAAGGATCTTCTTG AGATCCTTTTTTTCTGCGCGTAATCTGCTGCTTGCAAACAAAAAAACCACCGCTACC AGCGGTGGTTTGTTTGCCGGATCAAGAGCTACCAACTCTTTTTCCGAAGGTAACTGG CTTCAGCAGAGCGCAGATACCAAATACTGTCCTTCTAGTGTAGCCGTAGTTAGGCCA CCACTTCAAGAACTCTGTAGCACCGCCTACATACCTCGCTCTGCTAATCCTGTTACC AGTGGCTGCTGCCAGTGGCGATAAGTCGTGTCTTACCGGGTTGGACTCAAGACGATA GTTACCGGATAAGGCGCAGCGGTCGGGCTGAACGGGGGGTTCGTGCACACAGCCCA GCTTGGAGCGAACGACCTACACCGAACTGAGATACCTACAGCGTGAGCTATGAGAA AGCGCCACGCTTCCCGAAGGGAGAAAGGCGGACAGGTATCCGGTAAGCGGCAGGG TCGGAACAGGAGAGCGCACGAGGGAGCTTCCAGGGGGAAACGCCTGGTATCTTTAT AGTCCTGTCGGGTTTCGCCACCTCTGACTTGAGCGTCGATTTTTGTGATGCTCGTCAG GGGGGCGGAGCCTATGGAAAAACGCCAGCAACGCGGCCTTTTTACGGTTCCTGGCC TTTTGCTGGCCTTTTGCTCACATGTTCTTTCCTGCGTTATCCCCTGATTCTGTGGATAA CCGTATTACCGCCTTTGAGTGAGCTGATACCGCTCGCCGCAGCCGAACGACCGAGCG CAGCGAGTCAGTGAGCGAGGAAGCGGAAGAGCGCCCAATACGCAAC

SEQ ID NO: 2. Complete sequence of packing plasmid pXX2 with the bone-tag sequence (pXX2-ND8-8.4 kb). Initial codon for capsid proteins VP1, VP2 and VP3 are shown in bold. Sequence encoding for the amino acidic octapeptide is underlined.

CGCCTCTCCCCGCGCGTTGGCCGATTCATTAATGCAGAATTCCCATCATCAATAATA TACCTTATTTTGGATTGAAGCCAATATGATAATGAGGGGGTGGAGTTTGTGACGTGG CGCGGGGCGTGGGAACGGGGCGGGTGACGTAGTAGCTCTAGAGGTCCTGTATTAGA GGTCACGTGAGTGTTTTGCGACATTTTGCGACACCATGTGGTCACGCTGGGTATTTA AGCCCGAGTGAGCACGCAGGGTCTCCATTTTGAAGCGGGAGGTTTGAACGCGCAGC CACCACGGCGGGGTTTTACGAGATTGTGATTAAGGTCCCCAGCGACCTTGACGAGCA TCTGCCCGGCATTTCTGACAGCTTTGTGAACTGGGTGGCCGAGAAGGAATGGGAGTT GCCGCCAGATTCTGACATGGATCTGAATCTGATTGAGCAGGCACCCCTGACCGTGGC CGAGAAGCTGCAGCGCGACTTTCTGACGGAATGGCGCCGTGTGAGTAAGGCCCCGG AGGCCCTTTTCTTTGTGCAATTTGAGAAGGGAGAGAGCTACTTCCACATGCACGTGC TCGTGGAAACCACCGGGGTGAAATCCATGGTTTTGGGACGTTTCCTGAGTCAGATTC GCGAAAAACTGATTCAGAGAATTTACCGCGGGATCGAGCCGACTTTGCCAAACTGG TTCGCGGTCACAAAGACCAGAAATGGCGCCGGAGGCGGGAACAAGGTGGTGGATG AGTGCTACATCCCCAATTACTTGCTCCCCAAAACCCAGCCTGAGCTCCAGTGGGCGT GGACTAATATGGAACAGTATTTAAGCGCCTGTTTGAATCTCACGGAGCGTAAACGGT TGGTGGCGCAGCATCTGACGCACGTGTCGCAGACGCAGGAGCAGAACAAAGAGAAT CAGAATCCCAATTCTGATGCGCCGGTGATCAGATCAAAAACTTCAGCCAGGTACATG GAGCTGGTCGGGTGGCTCGTGGACAAGGGGATTACCTCGGAGAAGCAGTGGATCCA GGAGGACCAGGCCTCATACATCTCCTTCAATGCGGCCTCCAACTCGCGGTCCCAAAT CAAGGCTGCCTTGGACAATGCGGGAAAGATTATGAGCCTGACTAAAACCGCCCCCG ACTACCTGGTGGGCCAGCAGCCCGTGGAGGACATTTCCAGCAATCGGATTTATAAA ATTTTGGAACTAAACGGGTACGATCCCCAATATGCGGCTTCCGTCTTTCTGGGATGG GCCACGAAAAAGTTCGGCAAGAGGAACACCATCTGGCTGTTTGGGCCTGCAACTAC CGGGAAGACCAACATCGCGGAGGCCATAGCCCACACTGTGCCCTTCTACGGGTGCG TAAACTGGACCAATGAGAACTTTCCCTTCAACGACTGTGTCGACAAGATGGTGATCT GGTGGGAGGAGGGGAAGATGACCGCCAAGGTCGTGGAGTCGGCCAAAGCCATTCTC GGAGGAAGCAAGGTGCGCGTGGACCAGAAATGCAAGTCCTCGGCCCAGATAGACCC GACTCCCGTGATCGTCACCTCCAACACCAACATGTGCGCCGTGATTGACGGGAACTC AACGACCTTCGAACACCAGCAGCCGTTGCAAGACCGGATGTTCAAATTTGAACTCA CCCGCCGTCTGGATCATGACTTTGGGAAGGTCACCAAGCAGGAAGTCAAAGACTTTT TCCGGTGGGCAAAGGATCACGTGGTTGAGGTGGAGCATGAATTCTACGTCAAAAAG GGTGGAGCCAAGAAAAGACCCGCCCCCAGTGACGCAGATATAAGTGAGCCCAAAC GGGTGCGCGAGTCAGTTGCGCAGCCATCGACGTCAGACGCGGAAGCTTCGATCAAC TACGCAGACAGGTACCAAAACAAATGTTCTCGTCACGTGGGCATGAATCTGATGCTG TTTCCCTGCAGACAATGCGAGAGAATGAATCAGAATTCAAATATCTGCTTCACTCAC GGACAGAAAGACTGTTTAGAGTGCTTTCCCGTGTCAGAATCTCAACCCGTTTCTGTC GTCAAAAAGGCGTATCAGAAACTGTGCTACATTCATCATATCATGGGAAAGGTGCC AGACGCTTGCACTGCCTGCGATCTGGTCAATGTGGATTTGGATGACTGCATCTTTGA ACAATAAATGATTTAAATCAGGTATGGCTGCCGATGGTTATCTTCCAGATTGGCTCG AGGACACTCTCTCTGAAGGAATAAGACAGTGGTGGAAGCTCAAACCTGGCCCACCA CCACCAAAGCCCGCAGAGCGGCATAAGGACGACAGCAGGGGTCTTGTGCTTCCTGG GTACAAGTACCTCGGACCCTTCAACGGACTCGACAAGGGAGAGCCGGTCAACGAGG CAGACGCCGCGGCCCTCGAGCACGACAAAGCCTACGACCGGCAGCTCGACAGCGGA GACAACCCGTACCTCAAGTACAACCACGCCGACGCGGAGTTTCAGGAGCGCCTTAA AGAAGATACGTCTTTTGGGGGCAACCTCGGACGAGCAGTCTTCCAGGCGAAAAAGA GGGTTCTTGAACCTCTGGGCCTGGTTGAGGAACCTGTTAAGACG GATGATGATGATG ATGATGACGACGCTCCGGGAAAAAAGAGGCCGGTAGAGCACTCTCCTGTGGAGCCA GACTCCTCCTCGGGAACCGGAAAGGCGGGCCAGCAGCCTGCAAGAAAAAGATTGAA TTTTGGTCAGACTGGAGACGCAGACTCAGTACCTGACCCCCAGCCTCTCGGACAGCC ACCAGCAGCCCCCTCTGGTCTGGGAACTAATACGATGGCTACAGGCAGTGGCGCAC CAATGGCAGACAATAACGAGGGCGCCGACGGAGTGGGTAATTCCTCGGGAAATTGG CATTGCGATTCCACATGGATGGGCGACAGAGTCATCACCACCAGCACCCGAACCTG GGCCCTGCCCACCTACAACAACCACCTCTACAAACAAATTTCCAGCCAATCAGGAG CCTCGAACGACAATCACTACTTTGGCTACAGCACCCCTTGGGGGTATTTTGACTTCA ACAGATTCCACTGCCACTTTTCACCACGTGACTGGCAAAGACTCATCAACAACAACT GGGGATTCCGACCCAAGAGACTCAACTTCAAGCTCTTTAACATTCAAGTCAAAGAG GTCACGCAGAATGACGGTACGACGACGATTGCCAATAACCTTACCAGCACGGTTCA GGTGTTTACTGACTCGGAGTACCAGCTCCCGTACGTCCTCGGCTCGGCGCATCAAGG ATGCCTCCCGCCGTTCCCAGCAGACGTCTTCATGGTGCCACAGTATGGATACCTCAC CCTGAACAACGGGAGTCAGGCAGTAGGACGCTCTTCATTTTACTGCCTGGAGTACTT TCCTTCTCAGATGCTGCGTACCGGAAACAACTTTACCTTCAGCTACACTTTTGAGGA CGTTCCTTTCCACAGCAGCTACGCTCACAGCCAGAGTCTGGACCGTCTCATGAATCC TCTCATCGACCAGTACCTGTATTACTTGAGCAGAACAAACACTCCAAGTGGAACCAC CACGCAGTCAAGGCTTCAGTTTTCTCAGGCCGGAGCGAGTGACATTCGGGACCAGTC TAGGAACTGGCTTCCTGGACCCTGTTACCGCCAGCAGCGAGTATCAAAGACATCTGC GGATAACAACAACAGTGAATACTCGTGGACTGGAGCTACCAAGTACCACCTCAATG GCAGAGACTCTCTGGTGAATCCGGGCCCGGCCATGGCAAGCCACAAGGACGATGAA GAAAAGTTTTTTCCTCAGAGCGGGGTTCTCATCTTTGGGAAGCAAGGCTCAGAGAAA ACAAATGTGGACATTGAAAAGGTCATGATTACAGACGAAGAGGAAATCAGGACAAC CAATCCCGTGGCTACGGAGCAGTATGGTTCTGTATCTACCAACCTCCAGAGAGGCAA CAGACAAGCAGCTACCGCAGATGTCAACACACAAGGCGTTCTTCCAGGCATGGTCT GGCAGGACAGAGATGTGTACCTTCAGGGGCCCATCTGGGCAAAGATTCCACACACG GACGGACATTTTCACCCCTCTCCCCTCATGGGTGGATTCGGACTTAAACACCCTCCT CCACAGATTCTCATCAAGAACACCCCGGTACCTGCGAATCCTTCGACCACCTTCAGT GCGGCAAAGTTTGCTTCCTTCATCACACAGTACTCCACGGGACAGGTCAGCGTGGAG ATCGAGTGGGAGCTGCAGAAGGAAAACAGCAAACGCTGGAATCCCGAAATTCAGTA CACTTCCAACTACAACAAGTCTGTTAATGTGGACTTTACTGTGGACACTAATGGCGT GTATTCAGAGCCTCGCCCCATTGGCACCAGATACCTGACTCGTAATCTGTAATTGCT TGTTAATCAATAAACCGTTTAATTCGTTTCAGTTGAACTTTGGTCTCTGCGTATTTCT TTCTTATCTAGTTTCCATGCTCTAGAGGTCCTGTATTAGAGGTCACGTGAGTGTTTTG CGACATTTTGCGACACCATGTGGTCACGCTGGGTATTTAAGCCCGAGTGAGCACGCA GGGTCTCCATTTTGAAGCGGGAGGTTTGAACGCGCAGCCACCACGGCGGGGTTTTAC GAGATTGTGATTAAGGTCCCCAGCGACCTTGACGAGCATCTGCCCGGCATTTCTGAC AGCTTTGTGAACTGGGTGGCCGAGAAGGAATGGGAGTTGCCGCCAGATTCTGACAT GGATCTGAATCTGATTGAGCAGGCACCCCTGACCGTGGCCGAGAAGCTGCATCGCT GGCGTAATAGCGAAGAGGCCCGCACCGATCGCCCTTCCCAACAGTTGCGCAGCCTG AATGGCGAATGGCGATTCCGTTGCAATGGCTGGCGGTAATATTGTTCTGGATATTAC CAGCAAGGCCGATAGTTTGAGTTCTTCTACTCAGGCAAGTGATGTTATTACTAATCA AAGAAGTATTGCGACAACGGTTAATTTGCGTGATGGACAGACTCTTTTACTCGGTGG CCTCACTGATTATAAAAACACTTCTCAGGATTCTGGCGTACCGTTCCTGTCTAAAATC CCTTTAATCGGCCTCCTGTTTAGCTCCCGCTCTGATTCTAACGAGGAAAGCACGTTAT ACGTGCTCGTCAAAGCAACCATAGTACGCGCCCTGTAGCGGCGCATTAAGCGCGGC GGGTGTGGTGGTTACGCGCAGCGTGACCGCTACACTTGCCAGCGCCCTAGCGCCCGC TCCTTTCGCTTTCTTCCCTTCCTTTCTCGCCACGTTCGCCGGCTTTCCCCGTCAAGCTC TAAATCGGGGGCTCCCTTTAGGGTTCCGATTTAGTGCTTTACGGCACCTCGACCCCA AAAAACTTGATTAGGGTGATGGTTCACGTAGTGGGCCATCGCCCTGATAGACGGTTT TTCGCCCTTTGACGTTGGAGTCCACGTTCTTTAATAGTGGACTCTTGTTCCAAACTGG AACAACACTCAACCCTATCTCGGTCTATTCTTTTGATTTATAAGGGATTTTGCCGATT TCGGCCTATTGGTTAAAAAATGAGCTGATTTAACAAAAATTTAACGCGAATTTTAAC AAAATATTAACGTTTACAATTTAAATATTTGCTTATACAATCTTCCTGTTTTTGGGGC TTTTCTGATTATCAACCGGGGTACATATGATTGACATGCTAGTTTTACGATTACCGTT CATCGATTCTCTTGTTTGCTCCAGACTCTCAGGCAATGACCTGATAGCCTTTGTAGAG ACCTCTCAAAAATAGCTACCCTCTCCGGCATGAATTTATCAGCTAGAACGGTTGAAT ATCATATTGATGGTGATTTGACTGTCTCCGGCCTTTCTCACCCGTTTGAATCTTTACC TACACATTACTCAGGCATTGCATTTAAAATATATGAGGGTTCTAAAAATTTTTATCCT TGCGTTGAAATAAAGGCTTCTCCCGCAAAAGTATTACAGGGTCATAATGTTTTTGGT ACAACCGATTTAGCTTTATGCTCTGAGGCTTTATTGCTTAATTTTGCTAATTCTTTGC CTTGCCTGTATGATTTATTGGATGTTGCAATTCCTGATGCGGTATTTTCTCCTTACGC ATCTGTGCGGTATTTCACACCGCATATGGTGCACTCTCAGTACAATCTGCTCTGATGC CGCATAGTTAAGCCAGCCCCGACACCCGCCAACACCCGCTGACGCGCCCTGACGGG CTTGTCTGCTCCCGGCATCCGCTTACAGACAAGCTGTGACCGTCTCCGGGAGCTGCA TGTGTCAGAGGTTTTCACCGTCATCACCGAAACGCGCGAGACGAAAGGGCCTCGTG ATACGCCTATTTTTATAGGTTAATGTCATGATAATAATGGTTTCTTAGACGTCAGGTG GCACTTTTCGGGGAAATGTGCGCGGAACCCCTATTTGTTTATTTTTCTAAATACATTC AAATATGTATCCGCTCATGAGACAATAACCCTGATAAATGCTTCAATAATATTGAAA AAGGAAGAGTATGAGTATTCAACATTTCCGTGTCGCCCTTATTCCCTTTTTTGCGGCA TTTTGCCTTCCTGTTTTTGCTCACCCAGAAACGCTGGTGAAAGTAAAAGATGCTGAA GATCAGTTGGGTGCACGAGTGGGTTACATCGAACTGGATCTCAACAGCGGTAAGAT CCTTGAGAGTTTTCGCCCCGAAGAACGTTTTCCAATGATGAGCACTTTTAAAGTTCT GCTATGTGGCGCGGTATTATCCCGTATTGACGCCGGGCAAGAGCAACTCGGTCGCCG CATACACTATTCTCAGAATGACTTGGTTGAGTACTCACCAGTCACAGAAAAGCATCT TACGGATGGCATGACAGTAAGAGAATTATGCAGTGCTGCCATAACCATGAGTGATA ACACTGCGGCCAACTTACTTCTGACAACGATCGGAGGACCGAAGGAGCTAACCGCT TTTTTGCACAACATGGGGGATCATGTAACTCGCCTTGATCGTTGGGAACCGGAGCTG AATGAAGCCATACCAAACGACGAGCGTGACACCACGATGCCTGTAGCAATGGCAAC AACGTTGCGCAAACTATTAACTGGCGAACTACTTACTCTAGCTTCCCGGCAACAATT AATAGACTGGATGGAGGCGGATAAAGTTGCAGGACCACTTCTGCGCTCGGCCCTTCC GGCTGGCTGGTTTATTGCTGATAAATCTGGAGCCGGTGAGCGTGGGTCTCGCGGTAT CATTGCAGCACTGGGGCCAGATGGTAAGCCCTCCCGTATCGTAGTTATCTACACGAC GGGGAGTCAGGCAACTATGGATGAACGAAATAGACAGATCGCTGAGATAGGTGCCT CACTGATTAAGCATTGGTAACTGTCAGACCAAGTTTACTCATATATACTTTAGATTG ATTTAAAACTTCATTTTTAATTTAAAAGGATCTAGGTGAAGATCCTTTTTGATAATCT CATGACCAAAATCCCTTAACGTGAGTTTTCGTTCCACTGAGCGTCAGACCCCGTAGA AAAGATCAAAGGATCTTCTTGAGATCCTTTTTTTCTGCGCGTAATCTGCTGCTTGCAA ACAAAAAAACCACCGCTACCAGCGGTGGTTTGTTTGCCGGATCAAGAGCTACCAAC TCTTTTTCCGAAGGTAACTGGCTTCAGCAGAGCGCAGATACCAAATACTGTCCTTCT AGTGTAGCCGTAGTTAGGCCACCACTTCAAGAACTCTGTAGCACCGCCTACATACCT CGCTCTGCTAATCCTGTTACCAGTGGCTGCTGCCAGTGGCGATAAGTCGTGTCTTAC CGGGTTGGACTCAAGACGATAGTTACCGGATAAGGCGCAGCGGTCGGGCTGAACGG GGGGTTCGTGCACACAGCCCAGCTTGGAGCGAACGACCTACACCGAACTGAGATAC CTACAGCGTGAGCTATGAGAAAGCGCCACGCTTCCCGAAGGGAGAAAGGCGGACA GGTATCCGGTAAGCGGCAGGGTCGGAACAGGAGAGCGCACGAGGGAGCTTCCAGG GGGAAACGCCTGGTATCTTTATAGTCCTGTCGGGTTTCGCCACCTCTGACTTGAGCG TCGATTTTTGTGATGCTCGTCAGGGGGGCGGAGCCTATGGAAAAACGCCAGCAACG CGGCCTTTTTACGGTTCCTGGCCTTTTGCTGGCCTTTTGCTCACATGTTCTTTCCTGCG TTATCCCCTGATTCTGTGGATAACCGTATTACCGCCTTTGAGTGAGCTGATACCGCTC GCCGCAGCCGAACGACCGAGCGCAGCGAGTCAGTGAGCGAGGAAGCGGAAGAGCG CCCAATACGCAAAC 

1. An insolated adeno-associated virus-2 comprising: a) a capsid encoded by adeno-associated virus-2 DNA modified by insertion of acid amino acid polypeptide encoding DNA immediately after the adeno-associated virus-2 initial codon of capsid protein VP2; b) wherein the acid amino acid polypeptide consist of 4-15 acid amino acids; and c) wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 targets bone in vivo and is capable of transfecting single stranded DNA into a mammalian cell.
 2. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the acid amino acid polypeptide consist of 6-10 acid amino acids.
 3. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the acid amino acid polypeptide consist of 8 acid amino acids.
 4. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the acid amino acid polypeptide consist of aspartic acid.
 5. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the acid amino acid polypeptide consist of glutamic acid.
 6. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the DNA sequence encoding for the acid amino acid polypeptide consists of SEQ ID NO:3.
 7. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 comprises a single stranded DNA encoding an N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase, and wherein the single stranded DNA expresses a physiologically active N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase after transfection into a mammalian cell.
 8. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 comprises a single stranded DNA encoding a tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase, and wherein the single stranded DNA expresses a physiologically active tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase after transfection into a mammalian cell.
 9. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 comprises a single stranded DNA encoding a β-glucuronidase, and wherein the single stranded DNA expresses a physiologically active β-glucuronidase after transfection into a mammalian cell.
 10. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1, further comprising a pharmaceutical composition.
 11. An insolated adeno-associated virus-2 comprising: a) a capsid encoded by adeno-associated virus-2 DNA modified by insertion of SEQ ID NO:3 immediately after the adeno-associated virus-2 initial codon of capsid protein VP2; b) wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 targets bone in vivo and is capable of transfecting single stranded DNA into a mammalian cell.
 12. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 11, wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 comprises a single stranded DNA encoding a N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase, and wherein the single stranded DNA expresses a physiologically active N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase after transfection into a mammalian cell.
 13. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 11, wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 comprises a single stranded DNA encoding a tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase, and wherein the single stranded DNA expresses a physiologically active tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase alter transfection into a mammalian cell.
 14. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 11, wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 comprises a single stranded DNA encoding a β-glucuronidase, and wherein the single stranded DNA expresses a physiologically active β-glucuronidase after transfection into a mammalian cell.
 15. The insolated adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 11, further comprising a pharmaceutical composition.
 16. A method of transfecting a gene into a mammalian cell, comprising: a) incorporating the gene into the adeno-associated virus-2 of claim 1; b) contacting the mammalian cell with the composition in a); c) wherein the gene is expressed in the mammalian cell.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the mammalian cell is in vitro.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the mammalian cell is in an animal and the adeno-associated virus-2 is administered intravenously.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the gene encodes for N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the adeno-associated virus-2 further comprises a pharmaceutical composition. 